Aug 252014
 
Eli Manning, New York Giants (August 22, 2014)

Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 25, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS PRACTICE REPORT…
While it was far from perfect, Monday’s practice may have been the best for Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Again…it wasn’t perfect, but it was better.

Manning handled himself well in the pocket and connected on several deep throws. He marched the Giants up and down the field a few times and, if it wasn’t for drops, may have added two-to-three touchdowns to his practice. He didn’t work much against the starting defense, but he did a solid job against the second team.

On to the report…

Marcus Harris, New York Giants (August 3, 2014)

Marcus Harris – © USA TODAY Sports Images

THE WALKING WOUNDED…
Odell Beckham Jr. did not practice again today and has been ruled out of Thursday’s game versus the New England Patriots. The receiver has not played at all this preseason and has yet to make it through an entire training camp practice. This isn’t anything new for Giants rookies, either.

Joining Beckham on the ‘Bike Squad’ was Charles Brown (shoulder), Trindon Holliday (hamstring), Justin Anderson (unknown) and Spencer Adkins (unknown). Brandon Mosley (back) and James Brewer (back) were at the doctors, so was Geoff Schwartz (toe). Prince Amukamara (groin) was dressed but worked with trainers.

Cooper Taylor (foot), Jon Beason (foot), Markus Kuhn (ankle), Marcus Harris (shoulder) and Xavier Grimble (hamstring) did not go.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
Well, the Trindon Holliday experiment seems to have been an utter fail for the Giants as the speedy returner has made little strides in returning to the field. It’s a shame, too. I had very high expectations for him.

  • With Holliday and Beckham sidelined, the Giants worked Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle and Preston Parker as the team’s punt returners.
  • Early in training camp, Bennett Jackson hurt his foot and missed some time. Since he’s returned, he really hasn’t done much to impress. His ticket to the team was supposed to be special teams, but he hasn’t shown much as a gunner. Working on downing punts inside the five, Jackson misjudged one and it bounced into the endzone. I’ve seen that happen before.

HURRY-UP OFFENSE…
The first-team offense didn’t work much with the first-team defense, but Manning looked good with the reps he had. The other player that continues to shine is Ryan Nassib. The zip he punts on the ball just continues to impress.

  • I really believe the Giants got the steal of the draft in linebacker Devon Kennard as he just continues to show he’s a player each and every day. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him starting even when Jon Beason gets healthy. On the first play of the drive, Kennard came up in the hole to stop a draw play perfectly.
  • Eli Manning went deep down the seam to Victor Cruz for a would-be touchdown. Nice ball to get it just over the safeties head. The next play Manning should have had a second touchdown when he threw a perfect ball to Jerrel Jernigan on a streak. The only issue? Jernigan dropped the ball.
  • Once the Giants moved the ball into the red zone, things got a little iffy. Rueben Randle got open on a double move, but dropped the ball in the back of the end zone. On the next play, Manning threw behind an open Victor Cruz on I believe a wheel route. Both plays should have been scores.
Curtis Painter, New York Giants (August 16, 2014)

Curtis Painter – © USA TODAY Sports Images

SEVEN-ON-SEVEN…
This drill and segment is officially dedicated to Curtis Painter who went deep again..and again…and again…and again. Every single throw seemed to connect, or come close to doing so.

  • Manning and Randle connected a bunch yesterday and did so a few times today, too. Manning found the LSU alum on a deep in.
  • As I mentioned above, it was the Curtis Painter show. It started on his first rep when he threw a perfect deep bomb to Michael Cox on a wheel route. Should of been a touchdown, but Cox dropped it. Then, Painter went deep to Julian Talley, who had gotten past Bennett Jackson, for a score. Then, he went to Travis Harvey who had gotten past Chandler Fenner. It was a nice day for him.
  • Walter Thurmond III had an impressive pass breakup on a deep bomb from Ryan Nassib to Peyton Hillis. He lunged forward and batted the ball away.
  • I didn’t see it, had my head turned away, by Ryan Nassib overthrew his receiver on a deep ball and Zack Bowman came up with the interception.

ELEVEN-ON-ELEVEN…
Not too much went down in the eleven-on-eleven portion of practice. Few completions, few incompletions. Below are the highlights:

  • Jerrel Jernigan made up for his drop earlier in practice with a pretty nice grab on a flag route from Manning. With Beckham out, the Giants need Jernigan to rekindle his end-of-2014 magic desperately.
  • The Missile,’ Nat Berhe, continues to fly all over the place and hit people. His latest came when he threw his shoulder into Kendall Gaskins on a screen pass. Gaskins tapped Berhe on the helmet after that one letting him know it was a pretty good hit.
  • Speaking screens, the Giants worked on a lot of them today. Receiver, running back, tight end and full backs all caught the ball and then turned it up field.
  • Eli Manning made the play of practice on an absolutely gorgeous throw to Rueben Randle on a flag route down the left sideline. Manning dropped the ball over the head of Antrel Rolle and in front of Walter Thurmond. It fell, literally, right into the hands of Randle.
Damontre Moore, New York Giants (August 10, 2013)

Damontre Moore – © USA TODAY Sports Images

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
It was the starters versus the starters in the two-minute drill today. It was not the best showing from the starting offense. Also, Damontre Moore was kicked off the field during this drill. He was HOT about something that happened the drill before and continued talking when he re-entered the game. Coughlin threw him off the field and offered little after practice other than saying things got “heated.”

1st and 10 (1:08)
Eli Manning goes down the seam to Daniel Fells but throws behind him. Stevie Brown dropped a should-have-been interception.

2nd and 10 (1:04)
Eli Manning hits Jerrel Jernigan on an in four a first down.

1st and 10 (:49)
Eli Manning looks for Victor Cruz deep down the right sideline, pass is broken up by Walter Thurmond III and nearly intercepted. It would have been a difficult juggling/diving pick if Thurmond came up with it.

2nd and 10 (:43)
Eli Manning completes a swing pass to Rashad Jennings.

3rd and 8 (:38)
Eli Manning incomplete pass to Rueben Randle [this is where Moore was thrown off the field].

4th and 10
Eli Manning pass complete to Rashad Jennings, but he doesn’t pick up the first down. Turnover on downs.

Aug 242014
 
Ryan Nassib, New York Giants (August 22, 2014)

Ryan Nassib – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS PRACTICE REPORT…
Maybe this was exactly what Ryan Nassib needed, because the quarterback who took the field in this afternoon’s practice was like nothing who took the field before.

After throwing three touchdowns in Friday’s preseason victory over the Jets, Nassib took the practice field with a confidence that was bubbling over. He was moving around in the pocket, taking shots deep down the field, accurate and putting incredible zip on the ball. A near 180-degree difference from the quarterback who was demoted to the third team two weeks ago.

It was a pretty easy and light practice for the Giants today, so the report is a bit lighter. The team returns to the field tomorrow for practice two of three this week.

On to the report…

Peyton Hillis, New York Giants (December 1, 2013)

Peyton Hillis – © USA TODAY Sports Images

THE WALKING WOUNDED
Peyton Hillis (ankle/foot) and Jayron Hosley (foot) returned to practice on Sunday. Trindon Holliday (hamstring) practiced on an individual basis. Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring), Marcus Harris (shoulder), Xavier Grimble (hamstring), Geoff Schwartz (toe), Charles Brown (shoulder), James Brewer (back), Markus Kuhn (ankle), Jon Beason (foot), Prince Amukamara (groin) and Cooper Taylor (foot) did not practice.

Some new faces joined the bike squad as well with undisclosed injuries: Justin Anderson and Emmanuel Dieke did not practice this afternoon. Brandon Mosley missed practice when his back flared up.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
A couple key observations to be made with special teams, including a little bit in terms of the punt returning.

  • Giants punt returners were as follows: Rueben Randle, Trindon Holliday and Victor Cruz. Preston Parker did not take any reps with the punt returners. While the group was fielding, he was off on the side with a coverage unit doing some of those drills.
  • Parker did however get some work with the kick returning unit, along with Quintin Demps, Michael Cox and Jerrel Jernigan.

HURRY UP OFFENSE…
With Geoff Schwartz sidelined and Mosley out, the Giants offensive line again went into a shuffling process. There’s no timetable on Mosley’s recovery, which certainly doesn’t bode well for an already reeling line.

  • The Giants went with the following unit as the team’s ‘starting’ offensive line: LT William Beatty, LG Weston Richburg , C J.D. Walton, RG John Jerry, RT Justin Pugh.
  • Eli Manning had a pretty good practice and went to Rueben Randle quite often. The two connected for a long touchdown when Manning went through his initial two reads, rolled out of the pocket and Randle broke off his initial route and went deep. The two connected on a second touchdown in the redzone on a slant. On a second run through of the same drill, Manning hit Randle on a deep in.
  • Seriously, I think it was just about getting confidence because Ryan Nassib had a very good practice. He has a little bit of Brett Favre in him with that fast ball that can take someone’s head off. He displays it time and time again. On one play, he rolled out and put the ball on a line to Preston Parker standing right at the sideline on a comeback route.

SEVEN-ON-SEVEN…
As I said before, it was a light practice for the Giants so the highlights were a bit hard to choose from. Overall I’d say it was an average day, but there were still some things to note:

  • This was the drill Ryan Nassib completed his deep pass. Off play action, he dropped back and fired one deep down the field. Travis Harvey had beaten his man and Nassib put the ball on the money.
  • Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had a near interception of Eli Manning as he jumped one intended for Jerrel Jernigan. Instead of picking it off, it just grazed by his hands and Jernigan leaped into the air (he had run a curl) to make the grab.
Eli Manning and Curtis Painter, New York Giants (June 18, 2014)

Eli Manning and Curtis Painter – © USA TODAY Sports Images

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
With the fifth preseason game coming up on Thursday, I’d expect the reserves to get the majority of the work in practice. That includes Nassib, who got a few reps with the starters today. Again, I don’t expect Manning to see more than one or two series on Thursday, so this is probably just to prepare Nassib if he gets looks with the starting line.

For the two-minute drill, the Giants put 1:28 on the clock for the third team offense versus third team defense. Curtis Painter trotted the Giants on the field…and off just a few plays later.

1st and 10-
Curtis Painter hits Julian Talley for a first down on an out route.

1st and 10-
Curtis Painter drops the shot gun snap. It was a good snap.

2nd and 14-
Curtis Painter goes to Corey Washington on deep in.

1st and 10-
Curtis Painter goes deep to Corey Washington, intercepted by Ross Weaver.

Aug 202014
 
Curtis Painter, Ben McAdoo, and Eli Manning; New York Giants (June 18, 2014)

Curtis Painter, Ben McAdoo, and Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 20, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS PRACTICE REPORT…
With the Giants getting set to play the New York Jets on Friday, Wednesday’s practice – the final before the game – was a ‘shell’ light practice. Players wore gym shorts and jerseys with little-to-no contact between them.

It’s normally pretty tough to take anything of relevance out of these light practices, especially now that the Giants have ‘game planned’ for the Jets. A decent portion of practice was dedicated to the ‘cards’ which included Ryan Nassib lining up at wide receiver in the Jets “Wild Cat” formation.

Odell Beckham, New York Giants (August 9, 2014)

Odell Beckham – © USA TODAY Sports Images

THE WALKING WOUNDED…
The uninjured Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring) remains out. He caught balls form a jugs machine, jogged a little and spent time on the bikes. Prince Amukamara (groin), Jayron Hosley (foot), Xavier Grimble (hamstring), Trindon Holliday (hamstring), James Brewer (back), Charles Brown (shoulder), Peyton Hillis (ankle/foot), and Jon Beason (foot) were all out, too.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
The Giants did a different variation of their special teams drills, running through all the teams back-to-back-to-back. First, the punt team would punt, then the whistle would blow and kickoff would run on, then the whistle would blow and another team would come on. It was interesting because the first team and second team rotated as well.

  • The Giants ran a neat play that they successfully did in a game a couple years back. The offense started onto the field, then Coughlin yelled go and the field goal unit had to run on the field and kick the ball before time ran out. This drill was executed successfully.
  • Zack Bowman and Charles James II were again your starting gunners.
  • With the injuries, Jerrel Jernigan is getting some work as a kick returner behind Preston Parker and Quintin Demps.
  • Punt return rotation was as follows: Rueben Randle – Preston Parker Marcus Harris.

WHATS UP WITH THE INJURED PLAYERS?…
Just a note on what some of the injured players were doing. Peyton Hillis seems pretty close to returning. He was running and moving on the back field pretty aggressively. Beckham Jr. was not. He caught passes for the jugs machine, lightly jogged and spent some time on the bike.

Corey Washington, New York Giants (August 16, 2014)

Corey Washington – © USA TODAY Sports Images

SEVEN-ON-SEVEN…
The majority of this drill featured the ‘cards’ again. What this means is – on rotation – either the offense or defense is the ‘Jets’ offense or defense. They hold up a card, run the play and the opposite team has to try to beat it.

  • Could be something, could be nothing, but there was a little change to the starting receiving group when Eli Manning led the team to the line for the first time.  There was Rueben Randle outside and Victor Cruz in the slot, but Marcus Harris was on the opposite side of the field..not Jerrel Jernigan.
  • The Giants went with a goal line, four receiver look. Corey Washington checked into the game split wide and caught a fade-route touchdown from Eli Manning. Washington got a few reps with the first team today.
  • It looks as if Adrien Robinson is starting to work his way up the depth chart as he also got some work with the starters. Speaking after practice, Tom Coughlin said he “certainly” has done things to instill more faith in the coaches.

HURRY-UP DRILL…
As is the case every practice, the Giants first team-related drill features the offense going after the defense in a hurry-up formation. Teams rotate in and out, but the ones get some good work.

  • We had a good Marcus Harris sighting as the receiver caught two passes in front of Walter Thurmond III. He hasn’t been talked about as much as in the beginning of camp, but his play hasn’t dropped off. The second-year pro still catches everything in his zip code.
  • Ryan Nassib has gotten a lot of flak this offseason, and while his accuracy has suffered at times, he puts some impressive zip on the ball. He really can wing it. The issue is he tries to wing it too much.
  • The Andre Williams catching experiment continues to be a work in progress. He dropped an easy one in the flat today. He is at least trying to catch everything with his hands.
  • If want to know how Eli Manning’s camp has gone, the following play sums it up perfectly. After bringing his team into the red zone, Eli Manning threw an interception against the second-team defense. Jay Bromley jumped up at the line and picked off Manning’s pass. The 310-pound rookie began running the ball back before Perry Fewell told him to stop.

THE CARDS…
You really can’t take much of anything out of this drill, but here are a few highlights.

  • Curtis Painter (playing Geno Smith) threw an interception to Nat Berhe. By my count, that’s the second interception for Berhe this camp. He’s now working with the second unit in Cooper Taylor’s absence.
  • It was not the best practice for Eli Manning. Going against the scout team defense, he had to throw away a pass when no one was open and was then intercepted by Zack Bowman on a very ugly throw.
  • As noted above, Adrien Robinson has been making some plays lately. He made a nice catch down the seam from Ryan Nassib.
Ryan Nassib, New York Giants (May 22, 2013)

Ryan Nassib – © USA TODAY Sports Images

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
The Giants ended practice again today with a two-minute drill to simulate the end of the game. Essentially, the Giants offense needs to march down the field and score. Today, it was second-team offense versus the second-team defense with 1:12 put on the clock.

1st and 10 (1:12)
Ryan Nassib goes to Corey Washington on a deep in, pass is dropped.

2nd and 10 (1:07)
Ryan Nassib throws a deep in to Julian Talley, completion for a first down.

1st and 10 (:48)
Ryan Nassib goes to Corey Washington, pass is dropped.

2nd and 10 (:45)
Ryan Nassib steps up in the pocket and finds Preston Parker on the sideline (looked like comeback route) who then steps out of bounds. This play earned praise from Tom Coughlin.

1st and 10 (:27)
Ryan Nassib goes deep to Preston Parker, but over shoots him.

2nd and 10 (:20)
Ryan Nassib goes deep to Corey Washington but the pass is over his head. Nassib jumped in the air after this one because Washington was open and behind the defense. Coulda/shoulda been a touchdown.

3rd and 10 (:16)
Ryan Nassib completes a pass to Corey Washington on a curl route. Timeout.

4th and 2 (:10)
Josh Brown misses a 45-yard field goal as time expires.

Tom Coughlin took the Giants to visit the 9/11 Memorial in New York City following practice. The team will not practice tomorrow and will play the Jets Friday evening.

Aug 192014
 
Odell Beckham, New York Giants (July 22, 2014)

Odell Beckham – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 19, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS PRACTICE REPORT…
For a full-pads cards/game plan practice that saw the starters match-up against each other just once, Tuesday was an eventful one in East Rutherford.

The “not-injured” Odell Beckham Jr. sat out practice. With both Charles Brown and James Brewer nursing injuries, the offensive line had a few new looks.

There were more picks, a little trash talk and a water bath for Eli Manning.

On to the report…

Jon Beason, New York Giants (August 18, 2014)

Jon Beason – Photo by Connor Hughes

THE WALKING WOUNDED…
The same players were injured and not at practice: Xavier Grimble (hamstring), Trindon Holliday (hamstring), Charles Brown (shoulder), James Brewer (back), Jon Beason (foot), Peyton Hillis (ankle/foot) and Prince Amukamara (groin). Odell Beckham Jr. (non-injured hamstring) sat out, too. Ross Weaver (ankle) returned. Trindon Holliday (hamstring), who practiced limited yesterday, was out again today.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
As is the case with a cards practice, there really isn’t too much to take out of anything. But, you can observe some different formations.

  • With Holliday and Beckham sidelined, the Giants worked the following as punt returners: Rueben Randle, Victor Cruz and Preston Parker. This list just gets shorter and shorter each day.
  • The first-team gunners were Charles James II and Zack Bowman.  The second-team featured Trumaine McBride and Bennett Jackson.
  • It was Brandon McManus‘ turn to kick today and he went 3-of-4. What once looked like a real competition now appears anything but. Coughlin was asked if it would be tough to make the kicker choice and his response said it all: “I hope so.”

HURRY-UP DRILL…
After practice, Coughlin said about 50 percent of the day was ‘carded’ or ‘game planned.’ Here’s essentially what that means: the offense and defense line up (rarely ones vs. ones) and one of the groups will have a card with a play design that their upcoming opponent runs, the other will just run their normal play. So, if the Giants offense is up first, the defense will run a ‘Jets’ play while the offense will run their normal play. Then, reverse. The offense will run a ‘Jets’ play and the defense their real one. It’s tough to take anything out of these practices for that reason.

  • A little bit of trickery from the Giants with an end-around to Victor Cruz to start this portion of practice. Also, Manning and the offense looked much better and seemed to abandon going deep for underneath stuff. Yesterday, Manning started practice 3-for-10. Today, he began 5-of-6 with the incompletion being a drop by Andre Williams.
  • The Giants initially marched out their starting offensive line (Will Beatty LT, Geoff Schwartz LG, J.D. Walton C, Brandon Mosley RG, Justin Pugh RT) but then changed it completely a few plays in. Pugh played left tackle, Schwartz and Walton stayed at left guard and center, Weston Richburg played right guard and Mosley right tackle.

ONE-ON-ONE…
Always one of the more competitive and fun to watch aspects of practice is whenever the receivers and defensive backs go one-on-one in a goal line fade drill.

  • Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie looked really sharp in his two reps. He intercepted one throw for Victor Cruz on lock-down coverage. Then, he had a bat down which was a near interception.
  • Touchdown for Marcus Harris. Go this one on film:

THE CARDS…
While the majority of practice was cards, the 11-on-11 portion was noticeably so. It was tough to really take anything out of anything, but here’s a few things that stuck out:

  • Damontre Moore had a huge day and was all over the place. Seems like he’s starting to get a bit of an edge to him, too. He was jawing with Will Beatty a bit in between plays.
  • There was a deep pass down the sideline to Julian Talley, but Zack Bowman intercepted the pass.  Walter Thurmond III and Devon Kennard had interceptions as well off Eli Manning.
  • Not the best practice for Will Beatty as he was beaten for a sack by Emmanuel Dieke. It is not usually a positive sign when the third-string defensive end is beating your franchise left tackle.
  • Ryan Nassib connected on a deep pass to Julian Talley down the right sideline. Talley with a juggling catch.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
The only time the Giants starting offense matched up with the starting defense was at the very end of practice. The coaches put 1:16 on the play clock and challenged the offense to drive down the field. Since this was the only time the ones went at it, I kept a play-by-play breakdown of what happened.

1st and 10
Eli Manning completes curl route to Jerrel Jernigan for seven yards.

2nd and 3
Eli Manning completes drag-curl to Victor Cruz for first down.

1st and 10
Eli Manning completes screen pass to Rashad Jennings, no gain.

2nd and 10
Eli Manning pass to Jerrel Jernigan incomplete/dropped. Trumaine McBride punched it out.

3rd and 10 (:27 seconds left)
Eli Manning pass complete on deep in to Julian Talley for first down.

1st and 10 (:21)
Eli Manning pass incomplete to Julian Talley.

2nd and 10 (:16)
Eli Manning pass incomplete to Julian Talley (Pass defensed by Walter Thurmond III).

3rd and 10 (:11)
Eli Manning pass complete on out route to Jerrel Jernigan.

4th and 2 (:06)
Brandon McManus kicks game-winning field goal in the Super Bowl of practices.

Last week, Eli Manning dumped a bucket of water on top of J.D. Walton’s head at the end of practice. Today, Walton got Manning back by doing the same.

The Giants will practice for the final time this week on Wednesday at 12:00 noon. Tom Coughlin will speak to the media after and some players following that.

Aug 182014
 
New York Giants Training Camp (July 25, 2014)

New York Giants Training Camp – Photo by Connor Hughes

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AUGUST 18, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS PRACTICE REPORT…
If there was ever any wonder about the state of the New York Giants heading into the 2014 season, Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin summed it all up in two harmlessly-informative, self-posed questions.

“Who’s going to be the play makers? Who are they?”

Is it Odell Beckham Jr.? The receiver who has yet to take reps in an 11-on-11 drill. Rueben Randle? Who has caught one pass in three preseason games. Is it Victor Cruz? Who’s, well, catchless?

Is it Jerrel Jernigan? Last year’s end-of-season hero?

“He’s had days when he’s done very well and he’s had days when he hasn’t,” Coughlin said.

The regular season, the time when the games count, starts in three weeks.

On to the practice report…

Prince Amukamara, New York Giants (August 18, 2014)

Prince Amukamara – Photo by Connor Hughes

THE WALKING WOUNDED…
The Giants got back some familiar faces today in Mike Patterson (shoulder) and Daniel Fells (knee); both appeared to practice fully. Trindon Holliday (hamstring) was in pads and limited, catching punts. Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring) caught punts and was in on a couple seven-on-seven drills. Prince Amukamara (groin) missed practice, although he did stretch and warm up with the team in pads.

Then, there were the following that missed practice entirely: Peyton Hillis (ankle/foot), Jayron Hosley (foot), Ross Weaver (ankle), Kellen Davis (Achilles strain), Xavier Grimble (hamstring), Charles Brown (shoulder) and James Brewer (back). Coughlin made reference after practice that both Davis and Brewer should not miss much time. Of course, Jon Beason (foot) remains on the PUP.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
A few familiar faces made a return to the special teams portion of practice which featured mostly punt and punt return today.

  • Josh Brown kicked today, he went a perfect 4-for-4.
  • The returners were as follows but not in this order: Rueben Randle, Preston Parker, Trindon Holliday, Victor Cruz and Odell Beckham Jr.

INDIVIDUALS…
There was actually some different things to break down in the individual portion of practice, more so than had been shown in recent days. There was a neat drill from the defensive line, Andre Williams getting handsy and some lineup adjustments.

  • Ryan Nassib is back with the second unit taking all of the snaps. He didn’t look great today, but no one really did. Also, no change at right guard. At this point, it’s still Brandon Mosley starting there.
  • Before practice, Jon Beason said he was going to be very aggressive in his workout today with trainers. He worked on some pass coverage drills and also pursuit drills. I watched him a bit here and he looked very good. No limp in between reps and had some good explosion off his plant.

  • It still isn’t pretty, but it’s not nearly as ugly as it used to be. Andre Williams continues to work on catching with his hands and it looks like it’s starting to become more natural. In the beginning, the ball was straight beating him up. Now, it’s just a little push-and-shove.
  • Pretty cool drill run by the defensive linemen. A few bags were lined up on the ground and all had to high-step over them sideways. Once they got past the last bag, the coach fired a pass at them. If they dropped it, the drop-ee had to do pushups. Only one I saw drop a pass was Damontre Moore, but my eyes were bouncing around today.
Jon Beason, New York Giants (August 18, 2014)

Jon Beason – Photo by Connor Hughes

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
I’ve had a few people tweet me and call me a ‘Negative Nancy’ and I’ve had others say I’m too critical. So, to help display what the Giants quarterbacks and passing game have been doing in camp thus far, I kept completion stats.

  • Mario Manningham, Marcus Harris, Adrien Robinson and Corey Washington all got some first team reps as the Giants had a pretty steady flow of different receivers in-and-out of practice today.
  • Replacing Cooper Taylor was Nat Berhe. Also, replacing Prince Amukamara was Walter Thurmond III in two-corner sets. When a nickel corner was brought in, Trumaine McBride went outside and Thurmond in to guard the slot.
  • I’ll throw it out there, I’d be utterly shocked if Mario Manningham makes the team. He has zero burst anymore and Manning went deep to him multiple times, all incompletions. At one point, Manning went deep to Manningham guarded by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rodgers-Cromartie was at a steady jog behind before bursting when he had to in order to come away with a near interception.
  • Something was up with Quintin Demps today as the safety was hitting anything that moved. He absolutely lit UP Michael Cox on a running play. I think he also hit Kendall Gaskins.
  • Something to monitor: Weston Richburg got some first-team reps today, but he wasn’t subbing out Brandon Mosley. The rookie came in for free-agent acquisition Geoff Schwartz. It wasn’t to spell Schwartz, either. When Richburg came in, Schwartz worked with the second unit.
  • Completion stats: Manning – 2/9 (one completion was a screen). Nassib – 1/4 (completion a screen). Painter 1/1.

SEVEN-ON-SEVEN…
A little more life from the Giants here when the defensive line was removed. Manning made a few nice throws underneath and deep once, while Nassib looked pretty good, too.

  • Eli Manning connected with Rueben Randle on a deep play down the left sideline. Randle beat Trumaine McBride and made a leaping catch.
  • There was a Corey Washington sighting as the rookie caught one deep down the field from Curtis Painter.
  • The first reps of the day for Odell Beckham Jr. were in this drill and they were also his last. Beckham injured/didn’t injure/who knows on a drag route and didn’t return.
Corey Washington and Eli Manning, New York Giants (July 22, 2014)

Corey Washington and Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

ELEVEN-ON-ELEVEN…
While none of the passes were down the field, Eli Manning looked much better during this drill, nearly all of his passes were underneath. That is the way of the West Coast offense.

  • Ryan Nassib went to Corey Washington on a deep in. He beat Charles James II.
  • That Devon Kennard guy continues to shine. He popped Andre Williams again pretty good. On a stretch play, Kennard knocked Williams over with his shoulder pad.
  • There was another Marcus Harris sighting, too. Ryan Nassib went to the second-year pro deep down the seam.
  • Longest touchdown of the day came when Curtis Painter hit Julian Talley for a 50+-yard touchdown. Talley beat Bennett Jackson down the sideline.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
This may have been the ugliest set of plays I have ever seen throughout this entire training camp saga. A third-team offense versus third-team defense two-minute drill with 1:24 left on the clock. There was a sack, false start and interception before the offense turned the ball over on a dropped pass by Travis Harvey.

The Giants have an early practice tomorrow beginning at 12:00 noon. Players will be made available to the media later in the afternoon.

Aug 142014
 
Eli Manning, New York Giants (July 22, 2014)

Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 14, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants took the practice fields at Quest Diagnostics Training Center for the final time in this year’s 2014 training camp.

But they’ll be back on Monday do everything the same. The only difference? It’s now closed to the public.

Thursday’s practice was a light one for the Giants as tomorrow the team will travel to Indianapolis for its game versus the Colts. There were some cards, mostly one-on-one drills and a two-minute portion as well with the second team offense.

On to the report…

Peyton Hillis, New York Giants (December 1, 2013)

Peyton Hillis – © USA TODAY Sports Images

THE WALKING WOUNDED…
Peyton Hillis (ankle/foot), Xavier Grimble (hamstring), Daniel Fells (knee) and Trindon Holliday (hamstring) all missed practice. Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring) continues to do more as he works his way back from a hamstring injury. Mike Patterson (shoulder) was back, too, and John Conner (concussion) did individuals.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
The Giants practiced their kickoff and kick return today. With this particular drill, I tried to focus on the exact order of both the returners and their up-man. When I say up-man, I mean the player that lines up directly in front of the kick returners and acts as a lead blocker. It’s organized below as follows : Returner/Up-man.

  • The rotation worked as follows: Quintin Demps/Marcus Harris, Preston Parker/Michael Cox, Michael Cox/Marcus Harris, and Marcus Harris/Andre Williams.
  • It was Brandon McManus’ day to kick and kick he did. Aside from going 4-for-4, McManus’ final kick was a beauty from at least 60 yards. He cleared the cross bars by at least 10 yards.

INDIVIDUALS…
There isn’t too much that you can take out of these lighter practices as it’s basically a glorified walk through. There’s little contact, the overall length is shorter and there’s not much to break down. Most of the observations are just that, observations.

  • It truly is time to sound the alarms with Ryan Nassib. Again today Curtis Painter was with the second team and Tom Coughlin sounded after practice like that’s where it’ll stay. It’s a telltale sign of how Nassib has played this summer.
  • Will Beatty was out there in all drills for the Giants which goes hand-in-hand with the fact he’ll start on Saturday.
  • Kellen Davis has been getting a lot of looks at tight end. He and Larry Donnell were working with the first team quite a bit. Again, the Giants are running a lot of multiple tight end sets.
Adrien Robinson, New York Giants (July 27, 2013)

Adrien Robinson – © USA TODAY Sports Images

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
The Giants ran through a bit of a hurry-up/two-minute drill as they usually do to start practice. Not much happened as the offense continues to look stagnant. It’s honestly frustrating at times to try to pick a positive out of something where there is so little. The entire training camp can be summed up in five words: The offense doesn’t look good. Simply put, the team doesn’t have enough playmakers on the field.

  • For the entire first drill with the entire first team, Adrien Robinson was out there at tight end. The Giants even moved him split wide at one point. Andre Williams was also out there as a running back.
  • Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz down the seam on a double move. Cruz shook free Walter Thurmond III and made the grab.
  • Zack Bowman had a nice bat down on a pass to Kellen Davis. Davis was open on a curl, the ball was delivered and Bowman just punched it out.
  • Something that certainly won’t make Giants’ fans happy: a big miscommunication between Rueben Randle and Manning. Manning dropped back to pass, Randle ran a streak, Manning threw a curl and Bowman undercut the route for a pick-six. All jokes aside, it was identical to the interception Bowman had against the Giants last year. Same side of the field, too.
  • Charles James II nearly intercepted Ryan Nassib. James had good coverage and undercut a throw intended for Julian Talley.
  • You may need to re-read this once, but Eli Manning ran for a touchdown. Manning pump-faked to open up a huge crease in the middle of the field. He then jogged into the endzone.
Ryan Nassib, New York Giants (May 22, 2013)

Ryan Nassib – © USA TODAY Sports Images

ELEVEN-ON-ELEVEN/CARD DRILL…
This was a little bit of both the card drill and eleven-on-eleven. Explaining the card drill for those that don’t know: The offense holds up a card with a play, the defense holds up a card with a play and then both go and run said plays at 3/4 speed.

  • Eli Manning looked for Marcus Harris on an out route but Cooper Taylor had really good coverage. Near interception for the second-year safety.
  • For the second practice in a row, Ryan Nassib dropped a shot gun snap. Snap was good, no pressure, Nassib just dropped it.
  • In a weird formation, the Giants split fullback Henry Hynoski out wide left as a receiver. Hynoski was the lone player to that side of the field. First time I’ve seen that all camp.
  • Touchdown pass from Nassib to Jerome Cunningham on a flag route in the red zone.
  • There was one interception today, but a few were dropped. Damontre Moore nearly had one as he lept in the air on a low pass from Manning. He had both of his hands on it but dropped the ball.
  • It wasn’t pretty, but Odell Beckham Jr. came down with a tipped pass for a touchdown in the red zone. Nassib was the quarterback as the ball bounced off a few defenders hands before making its way to Beckham.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
The Giants have ended practice like this a few times this week. Every day, a different team takes its turn and today it was the second teamers. The ball is set up at one end of the field and two minutes are put on the clock. The offense then has to march down the field against the defense and score. With Curtis Painter at quarterback, the Giants offense scored a touchdown on the final play. Painter threw a perfect pass to Preston Parker past a diving defender. Parker then walked into the end zone.

The Giants will be off on Friday as they travel to Indianapolis. The next scheduled practice is Monday, Aug. 18.

Aug 132014
 
Curtis Painter, Ben McAdoo, and Eli Manning; New York Giants (June 18, 2014)

Curtis Painter, Ben McAdoo, and Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 13, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The Giants held a practice that ended abruptly as today was a recovery stretch day. In this year’s training camp, the Giants have about once a week a practice that runs a little over an hour. After the hour is up, the team moves inside the Quest Diagnostics Training Center for a 30-minute stretch.

The Giants have devices on the back of each player’s jersey that monitors each step they take. That information is then read by doctors who can determine if the players are in need of a day off, or, in this case, a recovery stretch day.

The Giants ran some special teams drills, one-on-ones, 11-on-11 and a red zone drill before jogging inside to the air conditioned practice fields. Players then removed their shoulder pads and shoes and stretched.

On to the report…

Xavier Grimble, USC Trojans (September 21, 2013)

Xavier Grimble – © USA TODAY Sports Images

THE WALKING WOUNDED…
The same players are still out: Xavier Grimble (hamstring), Peyton Hillis (ankle/foot), Trindon Holliday (hamstring) and Daniel Fells (knee). Zack Bowman (knee) joined the group on the bikes. John Conner (concussion), Mike Patterson (shoulder) and Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring) were both limited. John Sullen sat out with an undisclosed injury.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
Punt and punt return’s day at practice today. Some new faces got some opportunities to run punts back.

  • Punt returners were as follows: Preston Parker, Victor Cruz, Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle. No Charles James II in the group, despite working with coordinator Tom Quinn on his punt catching after yesterday’s practice.
  • The order, by the way, of punt returners was Parker-Beckham Jr.-Randle-Cruz.
  • It was Josh Brown’s day to kick after Brandon McManus went 2-of-4 yesterday. Brown went 3-of-4 today. His one miss was a bad one sailing wide left.
Jay Bromley, New York Giants (August 3, 2014)

Jay Bromley – © USA TODAY Sports Images

INDIVIDUALS…
There were a few interesting/new drills run during the individual portion of practice. The Giants were on the side field, so the only observations that were able to be made here were in reference to the defense. The Giants practiced an awful lot of fade-route defense.

  • Jay Bromley has been playing some good football during the preseason and looks to have been rewarded for it. During practice, Bromley was lining up with the second unit next to Markus Kuhn. That may change when – if ever – Mike Patterson gets healthy.
  • Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie got a chance to play a little receiver while his teammates worked as defensive backs. With Perry Fewell at quarterback, Rodgers-Cromartie made a few impressive grabs. His best was a slant in which he extended his hands to make the grab, then kept the ball away from his body so Trumaine McBride couldn’t knock it out. It was nice, very nice.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
The Giants quarterbacks may have had their worst practice to date today. Zero big plays, zero excitement. In fact, they started the first three team portions of practice a combined 1-of-10. Yes, in practice, the Giants managed one completion in 10 attempts. It didn’t exactly get off to a hot start, either, as the pick-birds were out in full force in the two-minute drill.

  • Curtis Painter was the Giants No. 2 quarterback again, but threw interceptions on his first two pass attempts. The first came from Chandler Fenner and the second Mark Herzlich. After the second, Manning came back onto the field. Curtis Football (the nickname given to him by a twitter follower) may see his time as the Giants’ No. 2 coming to an end.
  • Jerrel Jernigan returned and was running with the starters, relegating Marcus Harris and Corey Washington to the second- and third-team respectively.
  • Really, really nice pass defense by Walter Thurmond on a drag route intended for Victor Cruz. Manning threw it to Cruz and Thurmond reached in front to bat it down.

ONE-ON-ONE…
It was pretty cool to watch the Giants’ receivers and defensive backs go one-on-one in a goal line drill. The ball was placed inside the five yard line and the receiver had to get past the defender in order to score. Some fades were thrown, some slants were thrown. It was fun to watch the athletes compete.

  • Rueben Randle made a very impressive catch over the top of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on a fade route.
  • It may be a trip back down to earth for Corey Washington as the receiver didn’t look great in practice today. Washington dropped two passes in this drill that should have been touchdowns.


ELEVEN-ON-ELEVEN…
Truly, it was an uneventful offensive day for the third time this week. It’s just been very…blah. Maybe it’s the fact this was a light practice, but things didn’t improve in the 11-on-11 drill.

  • Damontre Moore continues to make a push for time against the starters. On one play versus the twos, Moore was double teamed by both Charles Brown and Weston Richburg. The result? He bull rushed both of them into the face of Curtis Painter, causing the quarterback to rush a throw.
  • Nice toe-tapping grab from Preston Parker on the sideline on a pass from Painter. Looked like a corner route and the receiver went up and got it.
  • On an out route, Corey Washington dropped an easy one. The rookie didn’t have his best practice today. Then again, no one did.
Odell Beckham (13) and Zack Bowman (31), New York Giants (June 18, 2014)

Odell Beckham and Zack Bowman – © USA TODAY Sports Images

RED ZONE DRILL…
After the Giants ran through one series of 11-on-11, the team switched sides of the field and went into a red–err, I mean green zone. There was one notable play that stood out for a big, big reason.

  • Odell Beckham Jr. caught his first touchdown pass of training camp. On a slant on the first play of the green zone drill, Beckham hauled in one from Painter while being guarded by Trumaine McBride. He was in the second play as well, but the ball wasn’t thrown his direction.
  • I don’t think anyone wants to be Eli Manning’s backup. Seriously. With Curtis Painter looking as bad as he was, Ryan Nassib looked no better. On a perfect snap, Nassib just dropped the ball in the shot gun formation. He scrambled to grab it before throwing it away. He would have been sacked on the play.
  • Devon Kennard got a real nice piece of Andre Williams, knocking his fellow rookie to the ground. Williams then popped back up and ran into the endzone.

The last training camp practice will be  held on Thursday from 1:20-3:30pm.

Aug 122014
 
New York Giants Training Camp (July 27, 2014)

New York Giants Training Camp – Photo by Connor Hughes

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AUGUST 12, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
Maybe it was the drizzling rain slowly coming down in East Rutherford, bouncing off the helmets of the Giants attempting to hold practice at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

Maybe it was the wind, whipping around the practice field. Maybe, just maybe, the offense still doesn’t understand Ben McAdoo’s West Coast scheme.

Either way, it wasn’t a pretty practice for the Giants’ offense at the team’s training camp today. There were more interceptions, more drops, more bad passes and few big plays. Not even the attendance of Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress could spring life into Manning and the offense.

On to the report…

Jayron Hosley and Tom Coughlin, New York Giants (September 29, 2013)

Jayron Hosley returned to practice – © USA TODAY Sports Images

THE WALKING WOUNDED...
A couple of the players that missed practice yesterday returned today. Victor Cruz, Marcus Harris and Jayron Hosley were all back. Odell Beckham Jr. went from doing just individual work, to some seven-on-seven reps, too.

Then, there were those that were still out. Xavier Grimble (hamstring), Peyton Hillis (ankle/foot), Trindon Holliday (hamstring), Jerrel Jernigan (knee), Mike Patterson (shoulder), John Conner (concussion), Xavier Grimble (hamstring) and Jon Beason (foot) were absent again.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
Brandon McManus needed to have a near perfect camp if he hoped to upset Josh Brown for the Giants kicking spot on the 53-man roster. Today certainly didn’t help his cause.

  • Yesterday was punt/punt return; today was kick/kick return. Your returners? Preston Parker, Quintin Demps and Marcus Harris. Your up-men? Henry Hynoski, Marcus Harris, Andre Williams and Michael Cox.
  • I said it was an ugly day for McManus…and it was. The kicker went 2-for-4 with both kicks missing wide. One of the two he made did drill the cameraman atop the crane. At this point, it looks like Josh Brown has the position all but wrapped up. McManus has a cannon for a leg, he just needs consistency. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a good player in the league in a few years, he’s just not there yet.

INDIVIDUALS…
There were a few interesting drills run during the individual portion of practice. The most interesting? A little-league style tackling drill that the defensive linemen seemed to get a kick out of. Players stood facing each other. When the coach yelled, ‘Go!’ all would wrap up, then roll-tackle the player to the ground. I don’t think one defensive lineman got through this without laughing.

Tacklin fuel.. #Giants

A video posted by BigBlueInteractive.com (@bigblueinteractive) on

  • One little funny incident happened during a linebacker drill: Jim Herrman yelled for ‘Spencer’ to run from the left side to the right. The result? Both Spencer Adkins and Spencer Paysinger jogged over. Herrman laughed and said he meant “Megatron” which means Adkins.
  • In a drill with just the offense, Odell Beckham Jr. worked with the second team. The Giants do need him to catch on and get going quickly. The offense right now just doesn’t have the playmakers to be effective. Beckham was supposed to be counted on, but he hasn’t been on the field.
Rueben Randle, New York Giants (June 12, 2014)

Rueben Randle – Photo by Connor Hughes

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
As always, the first team-oriented drill the Giants run (aside from special teams) is the two-minute drill. Normally, like it was today, the Giants’ starting offense matches up against the starting defense.

  • For the time being, Curtis Painter is the Giants No. 2 quarterback. Again today Painter took all reps with the third team as Ryan Nassib worked with the threes.
  • Eli Manning hit Rueben Randle for a deep play down the right sideline. Zack Bowman was in coverage and Randle simply jumped over top of the veteran to make the catch.
  • While he saw some snaps at center during the Giants’ preseason game versus the Steelers, Weston Richburg has worked entirely at left guard these last two practices.
  • I’ve seen this quite a bit and I wouldn’t be surprised if it translates to a game: the shovel pass. Manning, Painter and Nassib have all gone to it the last couple practices.
  • The more practices that go by, the more likely it appears Mario Manningham will not be a part of the Giants in 2014. Not only is he suddenly buried on the depth chart, but Manningham has now dropped six passes in his last two practices.

ONE-ON-ONE…
The Giants offense and defense split into two. The quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs did some one-on-one drills while the running backs, defensive linemen and offensive linemen did some running drills. Another tell-take sign that Nassib is struggling – he was the quarterback handing the ball off while Painter and Manning threw to the receivers.

  • Manningham dropped one of his three passes during this drill.
  • In a one-on-one matchup, Quintin Demps had very good coverage on Corey Washington. On a slant, Demps got inside position to take the route away.
  • Walter Thurmond III had good coverage on a slant attempt to Victor Cruz. Cruz came up a bit limp, but was back for the next series.
  • A nice battle between Washington and Rodgers-Cromartie. Cromartie came away with a nice defense on blanket coverage

DRC vs Corey Washington on goal line fade. #Giants

A video posted by BigBlueInteractive.com (@bigblueinteractive) on

SEVEN-ON-SEVEN…
I said it in the last report, I’ll say it again. A Giants’ training camp practice isn’t a Giants’ training camp practice until the defense starts intercepting some passes. Yesterday, it was during the 11-on-11. Today, it was the seven-on-seven.

  • Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz for a deep touchdown on a flag route past Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. By my count, that’s the first long ball Cruz has pulled in during camp.
  • Odell Beckham Jr. took part in his first drill which involved a defense. The results? Not pretty. The first two reps Beckham got both ended in interceptions. The first, Manning went to him on a slant that Amukamara came away with. The second involved Curtis Painter forcing the ball and Jayron Hosley picking it off. On another play, Beckham ran a curl and and Ross Weaver batted it out of his hands.
  • Michael Cox dropped a very, very easy pass out of the backfield.

ELEVEN-ON-ELEVEN/TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
There wasn’t much taking place during either of these two portions of practice. My guess? It was the end of the day, the rain was coming down and the wind whipping around. No one looked good. It wasn’t pretty.

  • This is where Mario Manningham’s third drop occurred. Easy curl, Rodgers-Cromartie batted it out.
  • A skirmish broke out between Damontre Moore and Weston Richburg. Just as punches were going to be thrown, several players broke it up. Moore didn’t like something that happened and was going after Richburg.
Damontre Moore, New York Giants (August 10, 2013)

Damontre Moore – © USA TODAY Sports Images

  • Ryan Nassib hit Travis Harvey for a long touchdown, sort of. It was a busted coverage and Nassib was ‘sacked’ before the pass was thrown.
  • Touchdown pass from Curtis Painter to Kellen Davis in the back of the end zone in the red zone. Busted coverage.
  • Kendall Gaskins fumbled the ball very early on a carry. Either he didn’t get the handoff quickly, or a defensive lineman had great hands.
  • Bennett Jackson hasn’t had the strongest of camps, both before the foot injury and after. He was beat by Preston Parker for a touchdown on a flag route. Ryan Nassib threw it.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
Two previous times the Giants had run a timed two-minute drill. Once it was second-string versus second-string, then it was third-string versus third-string. Today? The ones went at it. The result? A turnover on downs for the offense. They may have picked up one first down and that was discrediting the two would-be sacks by Jason Pierre-Paul.

The second-to-last training camp practice will be  held on Wednesday from 1:20-3:30pm.

Aug 112014
 
Corey Washington and Eli Manning, New York Giants (July 22, 2014)

Corey Washington and Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 11, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
Throughout the course of this year’s training camp, Corey Washington had made highlight-reel catch, after highlight-reel catch against the third- and fourth-string Giants’ defense.

While the catches were impressive, they always came with a bit of an asterisk simply because of who was guarding the 6-4, 214-pound rookie.

Then Monday’s practice came. Victor Cruz, Marcus Harris, Jerrel Jernigan and Trindon Holliday did not practice and Washington got his first chance to play with the starters.

The result? Catch… after catch… after catch. Then, just for good measure, another catch.

Washington stole the show at Giants’ training camp as he continues to make a push for a spot on the final 53-man roster.

John Conner, New York Giants (August 9, 2014)

John Conner – © USA TODAY Sports Images

SETTING THE STAGE…
The same faces were absent from practice again today: Trindon Holliday (hamstring), Peyton Hillis (foot/ankle), Xavier Grimble (hamstring) Mike Patterson (shoulder), and Jon Beason (foot). Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring) and Daniel Fells (knee) practiced in a very limited capacity.

Then there were the new faces. Victor Cruz (knee), John Conner (concussion), Marcus Harris (hip) and Jayron Hosley (foot) did not practice. Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin did say after practice he expects Cruz, Harris and Jernigan to return tomorrow.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
The Giants were in shells today, so it’s really tough to gauge anything that really transpires at practice. You can look at little things, but it’s more flag football than anything else. Special teams falls in that same category. Really the only observations to be made are that of who’s lining up where.

  • The Giants worked punt team and punt return today. Your returners have dwindled down quite a bit since camp started. Just Rueben Randle, Odell Beckham Jr. and Preston Parker were back fielding kicks. This group, more than any, has thinned out the most.
  • Josh Brown kicked today and went a perfect 4-for-4. The kicking battle really is tight this year.
  • Charles James II and Bennett Jackson were your starting gunners. Ross Weaver and Zack Bowman were on the second unit. In a drill that practiced downing the ball inside the five, neither James or Jackson stood out. James misjudged one and had it go through his hands. Jackson misjudged a hop and missed it entirely.

INDIVIDUALS…
There was just one player I was keeping my eye on during the individual portion of practice: Odell Beckham Jr. For the first time since the very first practice, Beckham was back on the field doing something with the group of receivers. Here are a few observations:

  • It seems as if the drill involved even a little contact, Beckham was held out. The first thing the Giants receivers did was a one-on-one with defensive backs where all they had to do was get by them. No quarterbacks were involved…and no Beckham. Odell sat this drill out.
  • The first portion of practice Beckham took part in was one where a route-tree drill was run with the quarterbacks. The group of receivers would line up facing one direction of the field, run a pattern and the quarterback would throw the ball. Beckham moved well and didn’t waste any time bringing the crowd to their feet…

  • I did my best to see if I could find something…anything…to pick out on the negative front with Beckham. Truly, I couldn’t. This wasn’t because Beckham was perfect, but rather he didn’t do all that much. Aside from the route tree, Beckham was with the trainers. Tomorrow’s another practice and we’ll see if Beckham does more. Maybe this segment should just be renamed “Beckham Watch.”

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
Overall, Eli Manning and the offense looked pretty good in the two-minute drill. The starters connected on a few big plays and three-straight touchdowns down in the redzone. Albeit, the scores came against the reserves.

  • On three straight plays, Eli Manning went to Corey Washington. On three straight plays, Corey Washington made the catch in front of Prince Amukamara. The first two came via a curl route, the third on a skinny post. It was only the beginning of Washington’s stellar afternoon.
  • Corey Washington doesn’t just play receiver, he plays defensive back, too. Eli Manning made a terrible decision attempting to force the ball to Washington and it was traveling directly to Jameel McClain. Truly, it was going to hit him between the ‘5’ and the ‘3.’ Washington jumped up and over McClain, reached around and batted the ball out of his hands.
  • Pretty interesting development that Coughlin shook off, but I took as much bigger. Curtis Painter took all second team reps while Ryan Nassib worked with the third team. The quarterback rotation worked as follows: Manning, Painter, Manning, Manning, Painter, Nassib.
  • Eli Manning strung together three straight touchdowns in the redzone. The first – Manning found Rueben Randle on an in-route at the goal line. The second – Manning hit Randle for a touchdown on a fade route. The third – Manning hit Julian Talley on a flag route. Again, these all came versus the second- and third-team defense.
  • It’s very tough to gauge Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, simply because no one throws his way. On Monday, Manning wanted desperately to take a shot to Washington, but had to pull back because Rodgers-Cromartie had lock-down coverage.
  • Mario Manningham is on the roster bubble and needs to catch everything thrown his way. Instead, he dropped three passes today. If his name wasn’t ‘Mario Manningham,’ I’d give him zero shot to make the team.

    Mario Manningham, New York Giants (August 9, 2014)

    Mario Manningham – © USA TODAY Sports Images

  • Maybe being dropped to the third team was exactly what Ryan Nassib needed because on his first pass he made an unbelievable throw. Rolling out to his right, Nassib put one on a line to Preston Parker on a deep comeback. The issue? Two throws later he sailed one over Randle’s head on a slant.

SEVEN ON SEVEN…
Of all drills run in shells, the seven-on-seven may be the one you can take the most out of. It’s simple, the receiver has to get open and the defender needs to prevent that from happening. Today was a relatively slow day in the drill, but here’s the update:

  • Andre Williams is now catching just about everything with his hands. The issue? It still doesn’t look natural. Still…progress. He’ll improve each day.
  • Eli Manning made his best throw of the entire training camp. Manning dropped back and fired a pass deep down the field to Rueben Randle who was covered by both Prince Amukamara and Stevie Brown. Despite the double coverage, Manning placed the ball where only Randle could get it. The LSU alum reached out and caught it with his finger tips on the way to the endzone. The throw and catch caused several to say “Wow.”

ELEVEN-ON-ELEVEN…
It’s not a New York Giants practice until the quarterbacks start throwing interceptions. The Giants made it to the final leg of the race before the pick birds came out. Two INTs by the starting defense versus the starting offense.

  • Antrel Rolle notched the first interception of practice, jumping an Eli Manning pass intended for Rueben Randle.
  • A play later, Manning was intercepted again, this time by Prince Amukamara. Not sure who the pass was intended for because it went directly to No. 20.
  • Corey Washington continued to shine. When Curtis Painter checked in, the quarterback when deep down the far sideline for the rookie who was covered by Amukamara. Washington reached up and made the grab for a 40+-yard gain. Washington wasn’t done, making a toe-taping reception on the sideline and his best catch of practice.

The Giants will hold practice tomorrow from 1:20-3:30pm. Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo will speak to the media at 11:15am. 

Aug 072014
 
Charles James, New York Giants (August 24, 2013)

Charles James had his fifth interception of the offseason in Thursday’s practice – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 7, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
As the Giants took the practice field for the final time before Saturday’s game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was just more of the same.

The defense intercepts three-to-four passes. The defense returns three-to-four interceptions for touchdowns. The Giants quarterbacks go back to the huddle and try to figure out what went wrong.

At first, a lot of praise was given to the cornerbacks and the traditional logic of ‘the defense is ahead of the offense’ fit. But this is three weeks into camp. It’s not even Prince Amukamara, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie or Walter Thurmond III hauling these down. It’s Charles James, Zack Bowman and Chandler Fenner.

Seriously, the Giants’ offense is making Chandler Fenner and Zack Bowman look like Deion Sanders and Darrell Revis.

On to the report.

Odell Beckham (13) and Zack Bowman (31), New York Giants (June 18, 2014)

Odell Beckham is getting closer – © USA TODAY Sports Images

THE WALKING WOUNDED…
Bennett Jackson returned to the field for his second day of work. Odell Beckham Jr. continues to work on the side of the field with trainers. Peyton Hillis, Daniel Fells,Mike Patterson, and Trindon Holliday all took turns riding bikes. Geoff Schwartz worked in-and-out with the offense. Peyton Hillis and Kelcy Quarles are both still out with ankle injuries. Will Beatty just did work individually. No alarm, he won’t play Saturday so Charles Brown got all first team reps. Jerrel Jernigan also returned.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
It was tough really to gauge too much of practice because the team was in just shells. No contact, essentially two-hand touch. There were some observations to be made though.

  • The following players saw punt return looks: Preston Parker, Jerrel Jernigan, Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle and Charles James II. James and Parker got the majority of the reps.
  • With Bennett Jackson still not 100 percent, it was Marcus Harris getting reps as the lead gunner opposite Zack Bowman.
  • It was Brandon McManus’ day to kick. He went 3-of-4. The one miss was ugly on a complete shank wide left. That brings his camp misses to three. Josh Brown has missed two.

INDIVIDUAL…
There were a few pretty interesting drills run by the Giants’ offense today. Some different ones that we haven’t seen before.

Adrien Robinson, New York Giants (July 27, 2013)

Adrien Robinson – © USA TODAY Sports Images

  • Just to throw this one out there early: Odell Beckham Jr. was working off in the distance running routes at about 3/4 speed with a coach throwing him passes. He seems to be progressing nicely. My take? He gets on practice field Monday.
  • Cool drill being run with the tight ends. One player would run in place with another right behind him. As Kevin Gilbride Jr. threw the pass, the “defender” would smack the “offensive” player’s arms. Pretty interesting way to work on catching in traffic.
  • Andre Williams caught two passes, by my count, with just his hands. Got a video of the one. It still doesn’t look natural, but it’s coming along.

ELEVEN ON ELEVEN…
With today being a lighter practice, the Giants ran a few different variations. Saw some eleven on eleven, then primarily cards. Practice concluded with a two-minute drill. Here’s the highlights from 11-on-11.

  • Henry Hynoski was featured a bit more today in the pass game than usual. Saw the fullback catch two or three about 5-8 yards down the field.
  • Geoff Schwartz worked in at out at left guard. When he wasn’t in, Weston Richburg took his place.
  • It seems as if Charles Brown is having a very, very tough time guarding Jason Pierre-Paul. By my count, I had two sacks and one pressure for JPP coming off the edge. It could have easily been more.
  • The defense intercepted three passes, could have been five. Seriously. Five. First miss came when Charles James II undercut a pass from Ryan Nassib to Jerrel Jernigan. James missed it by an inch and the pass fell incomplete.
  • Near interception No. 2: Eli Manning went down the seam to Larry Donnell who was guarded well by Jameel McClain. Stevie Brown came over top and Manning’s pass sailed a little high. Brown didn’t watch it in, though, as the pass fell through his hands.
Henry Hynoski, New York Giants (December 30, 2012)

Henry Hynoski – © USA TODAY Sports Images

THE CARDS…
I described this a bit last week and it will be a trend the final practice before each game. The offensive coach holds up a card with a play on it and the defensive coaches do the same. Then, the play is run.

  • Another Henry Hynoski sighting in the pass game. This time he beat Jacquian Williams.
  • I saw this a bit last week, Giants didn’t go to it in the game but it’s there. The read option with Ryan Nassib seems to be something in Ben McAdoo’s back pocket.
  • Marcus “Soup” Harris continues to catch just about everything that is thrown in his zip code. He beat Prince Amukamara on an out, then got deep on a shallow post.
  • Chandler Fenner has had a nice showing the last two days of practice. He fought a ball away from Corey Washington on a deep in.
  • First interception of practice comes from Zack Bowman. He picked off Ryan Nassib. I had my head down so I missed the exact play. Either way, he returned it for a touchdown.
  • Second interception (and fifth of camp) came from Charles James II. The second-year pro undercut an Eli Manning pass intended for I believe Victor Cruz. James II then returned it for a touchdown.

THE RED ZONE…
Following some special teams work, the Giants lined up and worked through a red zone drill. It wasn’t pretty for the offense as the defense continued to have all the success.

  • Ryan Nassib threw a terrible interception to Zack Bowman (his second of the day). On a play-action roll out, Nassib threw it, well, directly to him. Ben McAdoo gave him a few words of ‘encouragement’ after that.
  • Nice pass defense from Prince Amukamara as Manning looked for Rueben Randle in the back of the endzone. Prince had it guarded perfectly and knocked it away.
  • Something happened between Jameel McClain and Adrien Robinson. Didn’t see too much, but McClain got up yelling about “having maturity.”

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
Yesterday, the Giants concluded practice by running the two-minute drill with Ryan Nassib under center. Today, it was Curtis Painter’s turn. The drive didn’t last very long. On a fourth-and-two from midfield, Painter went deep for Corey Washington. Washington got past Chandler Fenner for the ‘game-winning’ touchdown. Really pretty pass from Painter, dropped it right into Washington’s hands.